Lake Orion’s Downtown Development Authority board approved a three-year marketing contract with Hudson Collective after hearing presentations at their June 17 special meeting.

The DDA board had previously discussed the marketing contract at their June 8 regular meeting but ultimately refrained from approving a contract after board members raised issue with not being apart of the original presentations that had taken place in April and ended in early June.

The DDA received 16 total bids, the top three being Hudson Collective, Blended Collective and Right Hook.

Six board members were present special meeting: chairperson Debbie Burgess, vice-chairperson Matt Shell, village council president Ken Van Portfliet, Lloyd Coe and Kristin Horvath.

All three companies gave presentations and answered board member questions regarding their experiences and ideas.

Once presentations had concluded, board members discussed what they liked about the companies before making the final decision.

“I really appreciate that we were able to do this. Watching those presentations, while I thought that they were all great, I can absolutely see why the team recommended Hudson Collective. I thought that all of their ideas were excellent,” Horvath said. “I would like to recommend whatever motion needs to be read to hire Hudson Collective.”

The board unanimously approved the three-year contract with Hudson Collective.

Their contract begins on July 1, 2021.

— Megan Kelley